Infographics: Completed Air Force, Army, Navy upgrade projects

A member of the Philippine Air Force salutes during a ceremony for the turnover of eight brand new Bell-412EP helicopters that were procured by the Philippine Air Force from Bell Helicopter Textron and two attack helicopters, the Augusta Westland AW-109E from Italy as part of its modernization program Monday, Aug. 17, 2015 at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, Philippines. AP/Bullit Marquez

MANILA, Philippines — The country's defense spending has been on a steady rise since the 1990s, with a 25-percent leap eyed next year.

The proposed P25-billion defense budget in 2016 is part of a five-year military modernization program gearing to project a modern military with minimum credible defense and to make the Philippines a worthy member of security alliances.

Data recently obtained by The STAR showed that 55 military upgrade projects worth P11.71 billion have been completed under the Aquino administration. These include:

Based on a report by The STAR / Alexis Romero; Infographics by Philstar.com / Jonathan Asuncion

A total of P90.86 billion is needed to bankroll the military's upgrade program until 2017.

Last week, the Philippine Navy christened two brand new weaponized AugustaWestlend AW109 helicopters for deployment on board its Pilar-class frigates.

RELATED: Minimum credible defense: Still a long way to go

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